Economy Secretary sets out more detail of how its Youth Guarantee will give young people the chance to succeed

The Scottish Government says that its Youth Guarantee will ensure everyone aged between 16 and 24 has the opportunity of employment, volunteering, education or training and is funding it with £60 million. Half the money will go to local authorities to help local partnerships to deliver employability support for young people, £10 million will create additional opportunities in colleges and £10 million will go to support pathways to apprenticeships. The rest will provide valuable, additional funding for Developing the Young Workforce, the Scottish Government’s internationally recognised Youth Employment Strategy.

The Youth Guarantee was one of the main recommendations of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery and an implementation plan has been developed by Sandy Begbie, who chaired the Developing the Young Workforce Group in Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian and helped design the Edinburgh Guarantee for young people. His report’s recommendations include early work to identify youth employment opportunities with employers in sectors, including financial services, utilities and life sciences, least affected by Covid; working to introduce an incentive model where government pays 50% of wages for young people who need the most help; and a call for businesses who would not normally have taken an apprentice full-time to consider sharing an apprentice with other employers.

Click here to read the Implementation Report

Click here for Developing the Young Workforce